The Great War

Before the great exodus from Sol, there had been a great war which had plagued the system for over one hundred years. There were two primary combatants in the war: the Eastern Coalition (led by Russia, China and the Arab States) and the Western Alliance (led by the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Japan, Italy and France.). The war started in the year 2160, and continued unabated for at least the next century, when the colony ships were launched and records from Sol end. Little is now known about how, or even why the war started, though some historians claim it was initiated with a massive surprise attack by the Coalition against the Alliance fleets. Millions died in a vast but inconclusive conflict until the Coalition gained the upper hand at last. The Italian and French fleets were utterly destroyed.

Exodus

When the Coalition arrived at one of Jupiter's moons with hostile intent, they were confronted with an impressive sight. The Alliance, in desperation, had constructed five "sleeper" colony ships in secret to carry a cargo of colonists in cryogenic suspension to a distant sector where it was hoped that they would escape the war which had divided the human race for so long. Each ship was christened after its patron nation: the Bretonia (Great Britain), the Rheinland (Germany), the Hispania (Spain), the Kusari (Japan) and the Liberty (the United States). As the Coalition attacked, the sleeper ships and their escorts managed to break through the blockade and made the jump to the Sirius sector.

Arrival

Upon arrival, each sleeper ship went their separate ways. The Liberty arrived in the center of the Sirius sector, the first of the colony ships to arrive and claiming the central systems of the sector. The Hispania was sabotaged on its way to Sirius and was thought to be lost. The Bretonia was hit when she broke the Coalition blockade and arrived 20 years later in a resource-rich region of the sector. The Kusari came out of jump amid systems rich in water and H-fuel, though the local planets had little in the way of landmasses to establish settlements upon. The Rheinland arrived in a system whose best candidate for a colony was almost perpetually locked in a frigid winter. The colonists settled down on different planets in different systems, and without the influence of the war, began the process of rebuilding their societies. Eventually, contact was re-established between the disparate colonies. Although the history of Sirius has been plagued by hostilities and hardships, nothing on the scale of the great war has yet become reality.

At present, humans reside in the Sirius sector, but the region itself was born out of strife. It has taken a long journey to the vague semblance of peace the region currently enjoys. The history of the Sirius sector begins approximately 800 years in the past, originating from humanity's home, Earth, in the Sol system. Few historical records remain which explain what exactly happened, but conventional history outlines the development of the fledgling sector.

Liberty

The Liberty (colony ship) was commissioned by the Americans and was the first to arrive in the Sirius Sector. The colonists settled in the center of Sirius space, where the highest number of main sequence stars and Earth-like planets existed. These mostly-American colonists called the first system they settled "New York" as they began the difficult task of rebuilding civilization, two full years before any other sleeper ship arrived. The actual sleeper ship Liberty itself was originally stripped down to allow for rapid building, but has since been refurbished and proudly flaunts Liberty's logo over Manhattan's main landing dock for all travellers to be reminded of just how far Liberty has come.

Liberty is a very capitalistic colony, cherishing free trade above all else. Its location at the center of Sirius has made it extremely rich off of inter-colonial trade, and Liberty's military forces have the protection of free commerce as their primary mission objective. While their military (as seen in the game, anyway) is comparatively the weakest of the houses, so are its criminals, resulting in a remarkably secure colony that the other Houses can only envy.

Liberty's initial meteoric rise was fuelled by early scientific discoveries leading to Ageira Technologies invention of Jump Gates by 180 AS, with production going into full swing by 215 AS. Jump Gates were incredibly expensive to build, but allowed the phase alignment of a jump hole to be controlled, forcing the hole to stay open for trade, or allowing it to be "locked". Therefore, Jump Gates were incredibly useful for normalizing trade and communications between colony systems, and thus highly in demand, spurring an influx of cash to Liberty and the rise of Ageira. In particular, Interspace Commerce made a killing financing the construction of the extremely expensive Jump Gates as well as underwriting interstellar shipping insurance packages. By 280 AS, Ageira introduced Trade Lane technology, and the second half of the modern interstellar trade infrastructure began to take shape. Ageira and IC grew rich beyond their wildest dreams; Deep Space Engineering expanded rapidly to handle the increased demand. Universal Shipping used the new Trade Lanes, Liberty's central positions and its favourable deals with IC to gain a competitive edge in the early years. Things were looking pretty good for Liberty.

However, free-market capitalism rapidly exploited and depleted the resources in Liberty space, producing a vast fields of scrap metal in the New York and Texas systems as used-up junk accumulated. The central position in Sirius that made Liberty the master traders of the early years now worked against the House, as it was boxed in by the other Houses and had no direct access to the vast resources of the Tau, Sigma, and Omega Border Worlds. To make matters worse, disaster struck in the Texas system in the form of the Dallas Incident in 521 AS, squandering a vast amount of resources and prompting Liberty to pull all funding for scientific research in the Texas system, cutting many promising careers short. In the same year, both Rheinland and Kusari defaulted on their financing terms with IC for Jump Gate and Trade Lane production, leading to a financial crisis: as usual, the little guys took it the hardest. The combination of the loss of scientific funding in the Texas system and the economic downturn throughout Liberty caused unemployment in Texas alone to jump by 50%. The crime rate exploded, with a 300% increase in the next decade.

Soon afterwards, terraforming efforts on Planet Los Angeles failed, causing the rich residents to start considering the possibility of relocating, and many began to eye Planet Denver. Increasing costs and workload from the additional crime in Liberty's downturn, combined with decreasing funding put the pinch on the Liberty Police Incorporated, forcing them first to cut corners and privatize, starting with their detention facilities. The wealthy on Planet Denver begin taking advantage of this shift and used their influence to pass laws to gentrify the planet, enforced by the now for-profit LPI. By 600 AS, this dynamic spiraled into a full-blown prison-industrial complex, a cat-and-mouse game involving the LPI on one side of the law, and the Xenos, Lane Hackers, and Liberty Rogues on the other. Manhattan, by contrast, has become a cornucopia of wealth, and planets like Denver and Los Angeles are playgrounds of the rich and corporations, respectively. Meanwhile, the labour of Texas that fuels Liberty's industries is supplied by a near-permanent underclass of convicts and those at the margins of Liberty society.

Liberty's prospects began to change for the better in 600 AS, however, when Kruger Minerals and Daumann Heavy Construction convinced the Imperial Rheinland government to begin the 80 Years War against the Gas Miners Guild of Kusari. Rheinland underestimated the independent GMG, and suffered heavy casualties. The government ran up huge bills with Daumann for ship construction, which were exacerbated somewhat due to the strong Alster Union, formed after the disaster at the Alster Shipyard in 512 AS. Finding itself in a financial pinch, Rheinland was forced to seek loans from Liberty and Interspace Commerce, who were only to happy to comply... with some pretty serious default clauses written in the fine print!

When Rheinland was eventually defeated in 680, it was time to pay the piper. Liberty corporations regained complete access to Rheinland, Synth Foods in particular. The food-producing corporation quickly bought up land on the fertile Stuttgart to pay off Rheinland war debts. In 700 AS, the financial crunch culminated in the Popular Revolution. The Imperial Rheinland government was overthrown by 705 AS and reborn as the Republic of Rheinland, led by the Chancellor and the Reichstag. Rheinland has since slipped into economic, social and military decline, with Liberty only too eager to further exploit its regained economic advantage.

Pre-Settlement: In the tumult of the Exodus, The Liberty launched before the other great sleeper ships. Even today, colonists whisper that the launch date may have been intentionally moved forward against the explicit wishes of the Great Planners. Early launch would have guaranteed the Liberty free access to the worlds of the Sirius Sector before the other sleeper ships arrived, but all proof of such a betrayal of trust was lost along with Earth. Even if the Liberty did launch early, there is little that can be done about it now...but there remains a lingering feeling of resentment among the other houses: a vague feeling that, somehow, Liberty does not entirely deserve the position of superiority it enjoys eight centuries later.

When the Liberty first arrived in the Sirius Sector they found an area rich in resources but lacking in habitable planets. With a hundred systems at their fingertips, they settled on those near the center of Sirius where the highest number of main sequence stars and Earth-like planets existed and a fair number of resources could be easily obtained. Eventually they made planetfall on Manhattan, in the system they christened New York. They began the difficult task of rebuilding civilization two full years before any other sleeper ship arrived.

Rheinland

Two years before its arrival in the Sirius Sector, the captain of the German sleeper-ship Rheinland was awakened from hyper-sleep to begin preparations for planetfall. He and his officers spent weeks studying the long-range sensor logs in an effort to determine the best location for their new home. Much to their surprise, the Rheinlander officers found that the Liberty already had arrived in the sector and had made planetfall within a clutch of worlds near the center. The officers decided to give the Liberty colonists their space, as it were, and instead concentrated on an area close to the Walker Nebula and rich in natural resources.

Rheinland was, at one point, the most powerful of the major houses, even with its stripped down military, which has been reduced to its last battleship, the Westfalen. An industrial and nationalistic people, the Germans brought their traits with them to the Rheinland and produced an economic powerhouse that has seen better days. Rheinland was blessed with food and more resources than it knew what to do with, save for H-Fuel the critical fuel for space flight. Rheinland launched an all-out war against the GMG to seize the gas fields of the Sigma systems, but was pushed back and utterly crushed in a daring GMG ambush. The remnants of the Imperial Fleet still exist today, slowly being reclaimed by shamed ALG Rheinlanders and indifferent Junkers.

The debts from The Great War paralyzed the economy and the once powerful nation slid into a tailspin. Chancellors were elected, tax reforms were launched, economic incentives were initiated, but nothing save for selling off Rheinland's precious resources to Liberty's corporations could keep the nation afloat. Many criminal factions flourished in this upheaval: the Bundschuh strive to purge corruption from the Rheinland government, while the LWB seek to eject Synth Foods from Rheinland space in general and Stuttgart in particular. Further down the spectrum of altruism come the Unioners, largely made up of former Alster Shipyards workers and their descendants, who have turned to piracy since the days of the rebellion. Finally come the Red Hessians, opportunistic pirates feared throughout Sirius. The government struggles to keep in check with its dwindling navy, recently rendered impotent by colonial conflict.

Extensive information, including visual documentation, is available for Rheinland space. Addition data has become available on the Walker Nebula Border Worlds and is included below.

Those who have not left Rheinland for the forces of the radicals have simply left outright, fleeing to the economic prosperity of Liberty to make their mark. However, Rheinland's tourism industry has seen a recent resurgence despite the events of the Nomad Incident.

Although Rheinland went through a period of radical military buildup under Nomads influence, the nation has recovered to its ante-bellum levels, which weren't all that stellar to begin with. However, the economy seems to have tapered out, waiting until the government can strike the right balance to revive the nation into the powerhouse it once was and could realistically become again.

The Walker Nebula Border Worlds

Omega-7 lies deep within the clouds of the Walker nebula, filled with mineral rich asteroids and explosive gas pockets. Not really a system, it’s more of a waypoint along the Trade Lane that was constructed from Cambridge to Stuttgart in the middle of the eighth century. The long and dangerous construction process took 20 years, with drifting asteroids an ongoing problem.

Five years after the Trade Lanes’ completion, a motley crew of independent miners from Bretonia and Rheinland rehabilitated an abandoned DSE construction site for use as a mining base. They named it Freistadt, a free port operated along similar lines as the Zoners run bases scattered throughout the Border and Independent Worlds. In 760, they became official members of the Independent Miners Guild. Over time, the miners discovered significant pockets of silver, copper, and cobalt. Lacking the facilities to refine the minerals, they shipped much of the raw ore to the relatively new ALG smelter in Berlin. The IMG dominates mineral production in the system to this day, although Kruger and Daumann have recently opened mining operations in higher risk areas off the Trade Lanes.

Omega-11 is a dying and dangerous system located at the southern edge of the Walker Nebula. At its heart is a late-stage red giant, a sun grown huge and hot as it begins to burn off the last of its helium reserves in its final death throes. Most of the planets in the inner system have already been consumed in the fires of the Omega-11 solar furnace, leaving only the volcanic Planet Schutz. Between the sun and the orbital path of Planet Schutz lies the astronomical anomaly known as the Von Rohe Belt, named after the famous Rheinland deep space exploration leader who initially surveyed Omega-11 in 110 AS. Von Rohe theorized that the belt was comprised of the molten remnants of a destroyed inner planet. Rich in diamonds, it has lured miners to Omega-11 ever since.

With the construction of the first jump gate to Omega-11 in 376 AS, commercial exploitation became a priority despite the inherent dangers. Daumann established the Solarius Station within the planetary shadow of Planet Schutz, the only area close to the Von Rohe Belt safe from the debilitating effects of the frequent solar storms. Mining the Belt is a very simple process that hasn't changed much in the preceding centuries. Ships make runs to the inner edge of the Belt and literally grab as many of the molten asteroids or loose diamonds as they can before retreating to the relative safety of Solarius Station.

The system also sits astride the Omega Jump Hole network, so both Red Hessians and Corsairs are frequently spotted in the area. Attacks are common along the tenuous supply line that stretches from Solarius Station back to the Stuttgart Gate. Omega-11 offers great riches, but only to those who are able to take care of themselves in this lawless frontier.

Kusari

The Kusari systems were founded by the inhabitants of the Japanese sleeper-ship Kusari. This house is ruled by a feudal system, in contrast to the single leaders of the other nations. The capital of Kusari space is Planet New Tokyo.

As the Kusari sleeper-ship approached the Sirius sector, they looked for evidence of high percentages of water, analysing spectrographic wavelengths of various planet atmospheres. One area in particular looked interesting. Lying near a distinctively shaped blue nebula that the on-board astronomer named the Crow, it was composed of relatively young stars, and possessed at least two planets with high amounts of atmospheric water vapor and oxygen. Planet-fall was made on the Planet New Tokyo in 5 AS., five years after the arrival of the Liberty sleeper-ship. Planet New Tokyo had plenty of water. What it didn’t offer was much land. The ocean planet was dotted with a few small volcanic islands. A culture that had left their cramped homeland far behind had to accept a cruel twist of fate once again, on the other side of the universe.

Shortly after planetfall, the Planners decided to restore the title of Emperor as the leader of the Kusari government after centuries of figurehead status. Strong and absolute leadership was needed to rebuild their civilization. The political maneuvering was intense. There were two rivals - Masamune Samura and Yosai Hideyoshi. Ultimately, Hideyoshi won. As a compromise, Samura was offered the presidency of the corporation that would rebuild the industrial might of the Kusari people from scratch. He accepted, and Samura Heavy Industries was incorporated, the first of the two great Kusari industrial conglomerates that dominate commerce in the region to this day.

By 100 AS., Samura had constructed the Yokohama Shipyard and established its reputation as the premier shipbuilder in Kusari. Over the next several centuries, Samura expanded its gas mining operations throughout Kusari space, began regular trading with the other houses, and perfected the construction of polymer hull panels and shielding. Samura's contracts to construct ships for the Kusari Military remain highly lucrative, while its commercial transports almost entirely dominate that sector. Throughout its history, Samura Heavy Industries has exhibited many of the traits of its founder: methodical, implacable, slow to change, quick to anger.

The second company had far more humble origins. In 10 AS., a small research company, headed by Katsuhiro Kishiro, genetically modified an existing earth fish species and introduced a super-breed optimized for life in New Tokyo’s alien ocean waters. He also tackled the rice problem. The soil conditions were quite different than Earth, lacking certain nutrients that rice brought on the sleeper ship needed. Again, Kishiro came to the rescue, this time with a new rice strain that could handle the harsh growing conditions found planet side. Kishiro won the adulation of the Kusari imperial family, and thus began the second of the two industrial dynasties of Kusari. Adapting the name Kishiro Technologies for his company, Kishiro espoused a progressive research oriented environment that relied more on brains than sheer size and intimidation, unlike his primary rival, Samura.

In 91 AS., Kishiro Technologies achieved a breakthrough in the development of quantum circuitry that revolutionized the entire economy almost overnight. Just as its founder had originally planned, Kishiro products found their way into almost every consumer, commercial, or military product on the market -- including those made by Samura. With their new found capital, Kishiro Technologies rapidly expanded their manufacturing capabilities and established the Yukawa Shipyard in the nearby Honshu system, devoted almost exclusively to the construction of ships to be used in gas mining operations in the nearby Crow Nebula.

Kusari was generally poor in natural resources, although the New Tokyo system did contain limited deposits of aluminium and titanium, which enabled Kusari shipbuilders to be relatively self-sufficient, at least for the first three centuries after arrival. The surrounding Crow Nebula had little in the way of asteroid fields found in such abundance in the Walker and Barrier regions. It did offer one key resource, however, that the entire Sirius Sector needed. Virtually unlimited supplies of Helium-3 and Deuterium were present inside the great clouds of ionized gases in the nearby Sigma systems. Both isotopes were quite rare on planets, but essential for the fusion engines that powered spacecraft of all sizes. Kusari soon became the exclusive supplier of H-Fuel, as they called it, to all of the colonies. H-fuel was the foreign currency source that allowed Kusari companies to purchase the many raw materials found in the other colonies that Kusari lacked.

Bretonia

The Bretonian systems were founded by the inhabitants of the British sleeper ship Bretonia. The ship arrived a full 20 years after the Liberty sleeper-ship. The region is now ruled over by a monarch and its capital is Planet New London.

The Bretonia was one of the last sleeper ships to arrive in the Sirius Sector, almost twenty years after the Liberty sleeper-ship, Kusari sleeper-ship, and Rheinland sleeper-ship had made planetfall on what became their respective homeworlds. In the chaos of Exodus, the starboard engine array of the Bretonia sleeper-ship was destroyed, requiring her to limp the rest of the way to Sirius Sector.

By the time the Bretonia sleeper-ship arrived, most of the resource rich areas of the sector had already been claimed by the passengers of the Rheinland sleeper-ship and Kusari sleeper-ship, while the Liberty sleeper-ship had settled the lush planets at the sector core. Bretonia was forced to select a less than ideal site near the Barrier, a giant belt of ice that spans the entire western half of the Sirius Sector. Here they established the colony of Planet New London, on one of the few habitable planets in the area. Isolated by the Barrier from the other houses and years behind, Bretonia began an accelerated program of rebuilding their industrial civilization.

*** Being behind schedule compared to the other colonies, many of the rules and regulation set by the Great Planers on how a planet should be developed to avoid the sins of their forefathers done on Earth, were waived by the colonists. The results of this industrial exploitation without any restrains can be seen in the enormous scrap and junk fields of New London, filled with dangerous volatile gases and life threatening radiation and its abundant fields of exploited asteroidal debris.

Even more obvious is this kind of development on Planet Leeds, barely habitable for humans in the beginning, due to its industrial exploitation has become the main cause of death to its inhabitants. In search for its resources the planet was dug over and over again, with the left over covering continents, that nowadays have become a source of raw materials in itself. BMM its main industrial developer has kept its stance of neglecting the needs of man and environment in the view of industrial profit, covered by a royal charter giving nearly state-like authority, over the centuries up to this date.

Only Planet Cambridge was able to escape this fate due to the most needed resource in early Bretonia - food, for which it is still the main source in this region. Another reason might be, that the Royal Charter to develop the planet was trusted to the Cambridge Research Institute, looking for environmentally reasonable though productive ways of tapping its riches. Its peculiar status in the royal hierarchy with direct access to the crown enables the dekans of its university to fight off all attempts of industrial exploitation by BMM and - more recently of Synth Foods. The planets population has a high proportion of proportion "well-educated", on one hand it helps the policy to preserve the planet in general, on the other side it produced the Gaians.

Bretonia is considered one of the less dangerous regions of the Sirius Sector, and is a good "second step" for new freelancers after Liberty space.

Hispania

The Hispania was one of the five colossal "Sleeper" colony ships sent by the Western Alliance to the Sirius Sector. It was sabotaged, some say by Coalition agents, and half of its occupants used escape pods to abandon the ship, becoming the Corsairs. The other half stayed and drifted with the ship, eventually founding a separate colony on the Planet Malta and becoming the Outcasts.

The remains of sleeper-ship Hispania can be found in the Omicron Alpha system, drifting in the vicinity of the Outcast capital world Planet Malta, a planet rich in a plant containing Cardamine. It is also possible that the Nomads attacked the colony ship but this is unlikely because the Nomads were not in Sirius Sector at the time. Hispania's compliment was largely made up of the many Spanish speaking nations.

Authors note: BOLD text indicates CROSSFIRE universe modifications to the original Freelancer story/timeline events, which includes STARLANCER. These are largely written by me based off the SWAT short stories of 1.8 and about Silver Arrow's history and lore! Regular text is based off the "History of Sirius" document from the old Lancer's Reactor site.

BEFORE SIRIUS EXODUS (BS)

Time

Event

BS21/2160A.D.

*NOW in the beginning of STARLANCER*

BS18/2163A.D.

As the century-long interstellar war between the Alliance and Coalition forces rages on throughout the Sol solar system, the weary and worn Alliance forces commanders have concluded that their resources and number of conscripts to further endure this war will exhaust itself due to a unsustainable rate of attrition within a few years. With little hope in sight to win, much less to endure this long and bloody war, a solution to save the families and next generation of the Alliance nations is formed, each major nation will construct a "sleeper ship" with light-speed capable drives and flee the Sol System to an uncharted region of the Milky-Way Galaxy to begin anew away from the horrors of war... Forever called the "Sirius sector", after it's biggest and brightest star in that sector.

BS17/2164A.D.

The Alliance's top-secret operation, "SIRIUS EXODUS" is set for launch from a remote and well defended Alliance outpost on Jupiter's moon, Europa. Unfortunately, somehow the Coalition forces discovered the information in time and sent a destroyer fleet to stop the ships from launching... Thanks to the valiant efforts of the defending Alliance fleet, all 5 ships, The "LIBERTY", the "BRETONIA", the "RHIENLAND", the "KUSARI" and the "HISPANIA" all break through the Coalition blockade and successfully engage their light-speed engines towards the Sirius sector in hope of finding a new home(s) for the Alliance peoples.

BS15/2166A.D.

In pursuit of the Alliance sleeper ships, the Coalition forces launch the "STALIN" sleeper ship in the direction of the Alliance sleeper ships towards the Sirius sector, never to be heard from again. (The sleeper ship's wreckage would only be discovered centuries later in the newly discovered Nephele system via the X-3043's discovery and it's alien jumpgates, presumably found and destroyed by NOMAD forces before the Coalition people could disembark to a habitable planet.)

BS15/2166A.D.

The final battle between the last remaining remnant of Alliance forces fleet near their Pluto outpost in the Sol system are "blitzkrieged" and engaged by the overwhelming Coalition fleet. But to both sides surprise and dumbfounded notice, mankind in the middle of this conflict makes their first extraterrestrial contact! Unfortunately, these E.T.s did not come in peace... Both the remnant of the Alliance forces and a large majority of the Coalition fleet were quickly destroyed by the purple, translucent alien ships... Forever known as the "NOMADS".

BS13/2168A.D.

The NOMAD forces drive the remaining Coalition fleet all the way back to Earth, destroying all human outposts along the way. Back on Earth, the remaining Coalition sleeper ships, the MOSCOW and the MINSK, were hastily completed and prepped for launch as soon as possible. Their destination was ironically, the Alliance's "fall-back" location, the Altair sector, in order to protect the colonists in the Sirius sector from the new NOMAD threat.

BS12(?)/2169A.D.

Perhaps the darkest day of all mankind throughout history... This was most likely the year that brought the dreaded day of judgment to all remaining humans left on Earth. The NOMADS finally arrive in orbit near Earth. After all initial resistance and remaining Coalition forces in orbit and on the planet are wiped away by the superior technology and numbers of the invading NOMAD fleet, the alien menace... Without pity, mercy or remorse, destroys all trace of mankind from the planet's surface in horrific genocide by targeted orbital bombardment of all human cities and towns. We suspect the few that actually did survive this attack did not live long after wards for obvious reasons... The NOMADs obviously are very efficient killers. Amazingly, they somehow left the Earth ecologically habitable in this attack... In spite of their sparing our planet itself, may we never forget the treachery of the NOMADS attempted genocide of mankind and pay them back in full with interest for this act on our cradle of civilization.

MAY WE, MANKIND, NEVER FORGET THOSE WHO TRIED REMOVE US FROM THIS UNIVERSE, DEATH TO ALL NOMADS!

17 YEARS AFTER SIRIUS EXODUS (AS)

Time

Event

0AS/2180A.D.

The "HISPANIA" sleeper ship arrives in Omicron Alpha; although not formally recognized in Sirius history or folklore, this could suggest that the "Outcast" colony is older than any of the "lawful" colonies and that the "Corsair" colony is even older. The history of the "HISPANIA" before it reached the Sirius sector is said that the vessel was possibly sabotaged by either the Coalition spies or by perhaps even by spies of one of the fellow allies of the Alliance! Due to this, the "HISPANIA" limps into Sirius at sub-light speed; at the first solar system with a habitable planet, the passengers of the HISPANIA take a vote. All people of the future "Corsairs" took to the escape pods of the "HISPANIA" and landed to the surface of the first somewhat habitable planet found in the solar system in what would be known as Omicron Gamma. The remaining passengers of the "HISPANIA", later to be known as "Outcasts", limped along in the sleeper ship until they came into the system with a planet of a barely habitable ecosystem, of what would be eventually known as Omicron Alpha.

1AS/2181A.D.

The Manhattan colony, interstellar passengers of the "LIBERTY" sleeper-ship, is established on what will be known as planet Manhattan, in a system that will also be eventually known as the New York system, in the Sirius sector.

2AS/2182A.D.

Within this following year, the remaining Alliance sleeper ships make land-fall at their respective, future capital planets in each future capital system. The "BRETONIA" lands on it's future rainy, temperate capital planet, New London; the "KUSARI" lands on the future water/island world of New Tokyo; the "RHEINLAND" lands on it's cold, frigid world of New Berlin.

6AS/2186A.D.

Theoretical date of the "MOSCOW" and the "MINSK" Coalition sleeper ships arrive in what would become known as the Sovetskaya system. After initial terraforming of it's massive capital planet christened, "Murmansk", the new Coalition colony is founded. This will eventually become the capital system of the future Coalition "House" in the Altair sector.

88AS/2268A.D.

Rheinland-born corporation, ALG, is founded to handle the cleanup of Daumann and Kruger mining operations within New Berlin.

100AS/2280A.D.

The Samura-built and operated Yokohama shipyard begins producing Kusari Naval Forces ships, as it does to this day.

181AS/2361A.D.

Universal Shipping, already wealthy from the California-Colorado silver trade, cements its reputation as the premiere Liberty shipping company by signing a contract to handle all shipping between Ageira Technologies facilities and Deep Space Engineering(DSE) construction sites.

188AS/2368A.D.

Jump gates are now connecting New Berlin to the Hamburg system, this leads to massive industrialization. Hamburg becomes the industrial heartland of the Rheinland Empire.

197AS/2377A.D.

The West Point Military Academy base in the New York system is established.

Bretonian government establishes the Gough Station in the Magellan system to assist disabled vessels and clear trade routes.

230AS/2410A.D.

The Norfolk Shipyard in the New York system is completed.

250AS/2430A.D.

A catastrophic decline in ocean harvesting on Honshu occurs, the second Kusari colony, which causes settlers to search for alternative means of survival. They will eventually move off-planet to become the Gas Miners Guild(GMG).

258AS/2438A.D.

The Bretonia-born corporation, Border World Exports, aka "Bowex", is founded.

300AS/2480A.D.

Tau-29 is discovered by a Kusari research expedition.

300AS/2480A.D.

The jumpgates between the Shikoku system and New Tokyo system are completed and active.

300AS/2480A.D.

The Sigma-13 system becomes the GMG's primary gas production area.

310AS/2490A.D.

Bowex receives a royal charter from Bretonian Prince Harry the XXI.

310AS/2490A.D.

The Oder Shipyard in the New Berlin system is constructed; the Daumann headquarters are moved to it.

312AS/2492A.D.

The Freiburg Station constructed by Republican Shipping in the Stuttgart system is used as a clearing house for produce harvested on Stuttgart.

321AS/2501A.D.

A Samura-backed coup d'etat in the Kusari government overthrows the ruling Hideyoshi dynasty. The fleeing loyal Hideyoshi Royal Guards escape to found the Blood Dragons and currently seek to return the Hideyoshi line back to power in Kusari to this day.

330AS/2510A.D.

The GMG signs an exclusive agreement with Samura for distribution of H-Fuel. Aomori Station, already serving as an equipment depot for Honshu miners working the lucrative oceans of gas in the Crow Nebula, becomes primary point of contact between GMG and Samura.

350AS/2530A.D.

Samura constructs the Osaka Storage Facility in the Honshu system.

350AS/2530A.D.

The Deshima Station is constructed to house itinerant foreigners which is influenced partially by the strict and recent New Tokyo entry requirements into Kusari space.

400AS/2580A.D.

In an effort to curb overpopulation problems in New Tokyo, Kusari government begins offering huge corporate incentives to relocate operations to the Kyushu system. Samura seeing a keen opportunity, decides to invest.

400AS/2580A.D.

Initial attempts at terra-forming planet Harris in the Tau-31 system begin.

410AS/2590A.D.

The Solarius Station in the Omega-41 system is completed.

412AS/2592A.D.

establishes the Alster Shipyards in the Hamburg system to supply the Rheinland Empire with transport freighters, lifters, and repair ships.

450AS/2630A.D.

The Kruger ship "Danzig" is lost in the Giftnebel while returning from the diamond fields.

450AS/2630A.D.

An exploratory expedition headed by Franz Schulman, who is financed by Daumann and the Rheinland government, stumble into Omicron Gamma while mapping the far reaches of the Walker Nebula. The local inhabitants, soon to be known as "Corsairs" throughout Sirius, sense a historic opportunity... They attack the landing party en-masse, kill all save Schulman, of whom they take hostage to gain control of the mother ship "Schiller" in orbit above the planet.

450AS/2630A.D.

The Bretonian government charters the corporation, Planetform, a terra-forming company.

460AS/2640A.D.

The Rhienland corporation ALG is tasked to clean up the Ruhr uranium mining field that Daumann had exhausted and left abandoned.

465AS/2645A.D.

The planet Curacao, in the soon to be known "Cortez" system, is discovered by the "Tantulus", a Liberty survey ship, while researching a new jump gate route between Liberty and Bretonia space.

475AS/2655A.D.

The luxury-vacation corporation, Orbital Spa and Cruise, founded in 475AS by Tony Cortez, seeks to establish itself and exploit Curacao as a pleasure planet.

500AS/2680A.D.

The ill-fated "Dallas Incident" in the Texas system: an Ageira jump gate research project goes horribly wrong, killing thousands of Ageira employees instantly. The supply ship "Ft. Worth" is lost in the tremendous system-wide explosion. Note that some popular histories cite this as 521AS.

500AS/2680A.D.

The Alien Import Prohibition Act - prohibiting the import of any alien organism onto inhabited planets - is passed in Bretonia. This leads to the establishment of CRL.

500AS/2680A.D.

The term "Corsair" comes into popular use in the inner worlds as "collective slang" for raiders from the impoverished Hispania colonies.

510AS/2690A.D.

The Kishiro corporation selects the now-fallow Honshu as the location for its main optronics manufacturing facility.

512AS/2692A.D.

An explosion in the Alster Shipyards in the Hamburg system kills hundreds of workers. The resulting labor unrest leads to the early prominence of labor movements in Rheinland.

521AS/2701A.D.

After the Rheinland-Kusari embargo, Interspace Commerce loses millions of credits as both Houses nationalize their trade lanes. The massive debts that those Houses incurred are wiped away and the Trade Lanes become each respective House's property. IC begins moving to cargo insurance.

535AS/2715A.D.

Deep Space Engineering completes the trade lanes across "The Barrier", a huge ice field stretching across many light-years, in which now links Bretonia and Liberty space.

535AS/2715A.D.

The Gough Station is decommissioned by the Bretonian government and effectively abandoned by all Bretonian personnel.

550AS/2730A.D.

The Bering system trade lanes are completed. Within that same year, the nearby Republican base in the Bering system is also abandoned.

550AS/2730A.D.

The Bretonian government charters the exploratory/research ship "Fearless" to explore the fringes of the mysterious Edge nebula. After several years spent crossing the outer Omega systems, they discover the system to be known eventually as "Omicron Theta" and it's only initially visible orbiting planet, Pygar.(later to be found, the planet Vespus is hidden in the nearby Edge nebula) Upon completing a brief survey of the planet and retrieving several strange artifacts that were sent back by courier ship to Cambridge, they continue on into the mysterious clouds that traversed the eastern end of the system and are never seen again.

550AS/2730A.D.

The Ames Independent Research Station is established by the Zoners to study the "Kuryo Anomaly" in preparation for the construction of trade lanes by Deep Space Engineering. Jump Gates couldn't bypass this system because of the danger in traversing the dark matter clouds of the Kuryo Anomaly, a lesson painfully learned in the "Dallas Incident" in the Texas system in 500AS.

550AS/2730A.D.

The GMG completes the initial survey of the Sigma-19 system. After intense negotiations, the GMG signs an agreement with the Kishiro corporation to finance a jump gate to the system in exchange for mining rights.

580AS/2760A.D.

The early independent miners, later known as "Zoners", from the New London system reopen the decommissioned Gough Station in the Magellan system. It would later be re-christened as "Freeport 4".

600AS/2780A.D.

The prison base "Sugarland" is built under the control of Liberty Police, Inc. (LPI) to handle the overflow from the "Huntsville" prison base orbiting planet Houston in the Texas system.

600AS/2780A.D.

Economic collapse happens overnight on Denver.

600AS/2780A.D.

The Fuchu Prison base is moved from the New Tokyo system to the Shikoku system.

602AS/2782A.D.

The Shinkaku Station is built to provide Samura access to the abundant ammonia, water, and oxygen ice fields present in the Tau-29 system.

603AS/2783A.D.

The Nago Station is constructed by the Kishiro corporation in the Tau-29 system.

605AS/2785A.D.

The beginning of the "Eighty-Years War" between Rheinland and the Gas Miners Guild(GMG).

614AS/2794A.D.

Ed Garner, Ageira Technologies patriarch, founds the Detroit Munitions station in the New York system.

620AS/2800A.D.

The planet Kurile in the Sigma-17 system, is discovered by the GMG. Samura eventually manages to construct a research platform on planet Kurile as part of an effort to harvest the micro-organisms for use as fish food on the planet Junyo in the Shikoku system, which is an incredibly successful initiative.

630AS/2810A.D.

The impending collapse of fisheries throughout Kusari space in 630AS motivates the government to begin terra-forming Junyo using recently discovered alien organisms in order to jump-start the nascent ecology. By 680AS, the planetary environment had been sufficiently altered enough to begin wide-scale production of luxury foods.

642AS/2822A.D.

Yuyu Matsuda, a young but critically acclaimed poet, publishes a poem called, "Golden Chrysanthemum in Bloom". Charismatic and well-spoken, Matusda has a considerable following among young Kusari women who find their lives lacking in direction, but are reluctant to become married and fulfill their traditional role in the Kusari society.

648AS/2828A.D.

Yuyu Matsuda is seen among those in the botched assassination attempt of the planetary governor of Kyushu.

650AS/2830A.D.

Rootless spacers from both the Texas and Hamburg systems refurbish the abandoned Republican base in Bering; it eventually becomes "Freeport 2", the second Zoner base in the Sirius Sector.

650AS/2830A.D.

Jump gates between the Honshu system and the Sigma-19 system are completed and active; the Gas Miner Ogashawa is stationed in the system by the GMG and begins full-scale operations.

654AS/2834A.D.

The first Independent Miners Guild(IMG) base is established in the Tau-23 system, known as Java Station. Bretonia Mining and Metals(BMM) surveyors somehow missed the system Tau-23 during the great mapping period in 450AS. A couple of Cambridge geology professors on research sabbatical stumbled across it in 654AS. Lacking the practical experience to develop the resources of the system, they persuaded some BMM mining engineers to start a new company, known as the Independent Miners Guild(IMG).

668AS/2848A.D.

The GMG decisively defeats the Rheinland Imperial Navy at the Battle of Yanagi Cloud in the Sigma-13 system.

679AS/2859A.D.

Probable birth of Bundschuh as a New Berlin University radical student group.

680AS/2860A.D.

A major dark matter storm that was predicted by Ageira Technologies based on Ames Research studies fails to materialize. Ageira, which had built costly alternative trade routes through Galileo for Liberty based on the predicted storms tries to redeem itself by ousting an elite development team and several executives. Several of the ousted re-emerge as the core of the northern Lane Hackers.

680-685AS/2865A.D.

The GMG/Rheinland "Eighty-Years War" winds down.

685AS/2865A.D.

Liberty companies are granted free access to Rheinland space in a critical agreement following the "Eighty-Years War".

Edinburgh tourism begins; Cambridge scientists become concerned about potential for ecological damage to the planet Gaia due to Orbital Spa and Cruise operations there.

700AS/2880A.D.

A California Minor research base is opened to study the micro-organisms brought back from expeditions into the Omicrons.

700AS/2880A.D.

Disgruntled miners take over Leipzig Station in the Dresden system on Von Rohe's Day, sparking a Rheinland-wide rebellion eventually known as the "Popular Revolt" or "Dresden Revolt". The Bundschuh plays a significant part in the revolt, running supplies to rebels in Dresden. The Rheinland Imperial Government is eventually toppled and the Bundschuh is briefly a legal political organization.

702AS/2882A.D.

The "Popular Revolt" began in the Dresden system finally overthrows the Rheinland Empire.

The Workers Convention of Rights is finally ratified by the Rheinland government, primarily due to Bundschuh influence.

710AS/2890A.D.

An amendment in the Sirius Commerce Pact allows the Liberty corporation Interspace Commerce(IC) to establish a base in the New Tokyo system; Roppongi Station is built shortly thereafter.

715AS/2895A.D.

The increasingly-conservative post-revolution coalition government in Rheinland finally forces the Bundschuh back underground.

715AS/2895A.D.

Vierlande Prison is stationed in the Hamburg system orbiting the gas giant planet Hannover.

720AS/2900A.D.

In the Bering system, the Zoners force the radical Unioners to stop criminal transactions at Freeport 2; the Unioners in response found Pacifica base on an asteroid in the Tanner Belt.

723AS/2903A.D.

The Kusari Naval Forces Battleship "Nagumo" is constructed and then launched into service.

730AS/2910A.D.

Liberty corporation Synth Foods takes control of the WVS (Stuttgart Growing Association). The LWB is founded in reaction.

730AS/2910A.D.

Bretonia Mining and Metals(BMM) surveys Tau-23; rich mineral deposits discovered lead to jumpgate construction, much to the surprise of the already present IMG at Java Station.

730AS/2910A.D.

The Bonn Station is built and operational by Interspace Commerce(IC) in the New Berlin system. Bounty Hunters are present from the beginning.

740AS/2920A.D.

Cobalt is discovered on the planet Gaia in the Edinburg system. Bretonia Mining and Metals(BMM) attempts to get mining permission lead to founding of the Gaian movement in Bretonia space.

740AS/2920A.D.

A Kusari ship hauling alien organisms across Tau-31 is attacked by pirates and ventures far off course. A hull breach kills the crew immediately whereas the ship drifts into the gravitational well of planet Harris and subsequently crash lands on the surface. To many scientist's surprise, the organisms not only survive the impact, but they flourish in the frigid, oxygen-deficient environment of the planet's surface. This is only found out several years later by a Planetform expedition looking for planets as terra-forming candidates. The resulting expedition caused Planetform to intiate immediate plans for terra-forming of the planet.

750AS/2930A.D.

The planet Los Angeles Ageira Technologies employees who created the extremely complex scanning and database system known as USI (Universal Ship Identification) depart the company acrimoniously. They eventually become the "southern" Lane Hackers.

751AS/2931A.D.

Outcasts begin smuggling cardamine into the New London system. The Outcast vessel "Puno" is lost in radiation fields on it's very first run.

752AS/2932A.D.

The Founders' Day Revolt by miners in the Dublin system occurs; the first major loss is the gunboat "Storm".

752AS/2932A.D.

Planetform, Inc. initiates the first stage of terra-forming on planet Ayr.

760AS/2940A.D.

The Freeport 10 station is established by a band of Zoners looking for an outpost as far from the colonies as possible.

771AS/2951A.D.

Liberty's plans for terra-forming the Hudson system's planet Atka come to a rumbling halt when a suspected Xeno attack squad blows up a Planetform terra-forming vessel. Planetform refuses to pursue any more terra-forming operations until the criminal Xenos are cleared out of the system. The disaffected Xenophobes begin planning a "Liberty-Free Republic" to be based in the system.

777AS/2957A.D.

The Liberty Navy Battleship "Rio Grande" is constructed and launched into service.

780AS/2960A.D.

The famous bounty hunter "Lucky" Logan Conner (usually stationed on Freeport 5) ventures too far from the safety of the Gredos Cloud on a raid into Omicron Gamma and disappears without a trace. It was rumored that the Corsairs trapped him and then disabled his ship to let him die a slow death by asphyxiation.

784AS/2964A.D.

The Dark Matter Storm originally predicted by Ageria Technologies finally arrives in the Kepler system, 104 years late. Among the major losses in the trade routes between Liberty and Kusari space were the "McKinley" (Universal Shipping), the "Nikko Maru" (Samura), and the "Kamakura Maru" (Samura). The storm destroys the old trade lane through the eastern part of the Kepler system.

791AS/2971A.D.

The legendary "Corsair-turned-Bounty Hunter" Jesse Casas disappears in the Napo Cloud. Captured as a young Corsair on his first mission to the inner house systems, Casas spent years imprisoned in the Vierlande prison base before his release and becoming a Bounty Hunter.

791AS/2971A.D.

Orbital Spa and Cruise stations it's state-of-the-art luxury liner "Hawaii" in the system usually orbiting. An incredibly popular destination, the Hawaii has operated at near capacity almost from the beginning. The location of the ship outside the policed boundaries of the colonies is also rumored to be part of the attraction, and much of the popularity of the Hawaii lies in the implied promise of forbidden fruit available to those who can afford a ticket.

792AS/2972A.D.

The beginning of the Liberty Navy "Hudson Campaign" against the Xenos; the battleship "Rio Grande" plays a significant part.

797AS/2977A.D.

The Red Hessian "Twilight Squadron" comes to Omega-5 and subsequently suffers a 90% attrition rate due to Corsairs.

800AS/2980A.D.

As the Sigma-13 system gas clouds near depletion, the GMG moves to acquire new gas miners from Kishiro to make low-density mining profitable again.

NOW IN THE SIRIUS SECTOR, BEGINNING OF NON-MODDED FREELANCER

Time

Event

805AS/2985A.D.

The mysterious death of the Rheinland Chancellor on-board the destroyed Rheinland cruiser "Donau", by the deemed criminal organization called "The Order" in the New York system near planet Manhattan nearly sparks a war within the Sirius sector between the two houses. Little known to most people in Sirius, in reality, it is the beginning of what is eventually known as "The NOMAD War", against the alien race who decimated the human population of Earth centuries ago.

805AS/2985A.D.

The Liberty battleship "Mississippi" was originally scheduled for decommissioning and turned into a museum. However, due to increasing tensions with the Rheinland government, the Mississippi is kept in active service for the next 5 years.

806AS/2986A.D.

The Kusari Naval Forces battleship "Myoko" previously was scheduled for decommissioning this year, however escalating tensions between the Sirius houses are keeping the vessel from seeing retirement and is kept in service for 4 more years.

806AS/2986A.D.

Further escalation of hostilities by the Rheinland government spill over into nearby Bretonia space in the Omega-3 system resulting in increased tensions between the Bretonia and Rheinland governments.

807AS/2987A.D.

Due to the recent events surrounding the Liberty Navy, the Liberty Police Inc.,(LPI), Liberty Security Force(LSF) and circumstances of newly discovered alien artifacts, the Liberty government institutes a total ban of all alien artifacts in or out of Liberty space. Also certain LSF agents, a Mr. Edison Trent and Ms. Jun'ko "Juni" Zane were declared part of a conspiracy of collusion with criminal organization "The Order" surrounding the destruction of the Rheinland cruiser "Donau" and therefore wanted as suspects in that disaster as they quickly flee Liberty space in light of the news.

807AS/2987A.D.

Serious escalation of hostilities between Bretonia and Rheinland occur with the invasion of the Leeds system puts both militaries on full alert and puts all Houses within Sirius on high tensions as to prevent escalation into all-out war. The battles in and near the Leeds system strangely also span across the Tau systems as if they are looking for something... Another strange result of this conflict was defection of two Rheinland officers to the Liberty military forces who claim the entire Rheinland government is being taken over by alien forces and that they must be stopped...

808AS/2988A.D.

Even more escalation of hostilities by the Rheinland military now spills over into Kusari space, namely with the Rhienland's old enemies, the GMG, this time with the backing of the Kusari Naval Forces in the GMG's place. The whole of the entire Sirius sector verges on the brink of total, all-out war!

808AS/2988A.D.

An attempted coup d'etat within the Liberty government as the Liberty President is taken into custody at the secret Alaska system Liberty base where an unknown raiding party, possibly "The Order" free the President. The resulting news sends shockwaves across Sirius as things within each of the Sirius houses begin to further deteriorate and escalate, from government, to military to civilian level operations and corporations alike. Civilians of each of the houses begin rioting and in some extreme cases panicking resulting in martial law declared and a full state of emergency in every Sirius House, even reaching into some of the outer colonies. More and more reports come of strange and suspicious "alien" activity throughout all of Sirius, especially in Rheinland.

809AS/2989A.D.

A secret deep space mission surrounding "The Order" supposedly discovers an ancient alien superstructure in a system deep within the Edge Nebula. It's resulting encounter with the hostile alien forces called the "NOMADs" brings about their defeat by the The Order's use of a alien artifact activating a alien jumpgate, sucking all nearby NOMADs into it, banishing them to an unknown location within our galaxy. The resulting battle causes all alien reports and supposed activity to come to a halt. All governments immediately cease hostilities and institute an immediate co-ordinated investigation across all Sirius governments into the cause of the recent calamities and considers the possibility of an alien attack against all of humanity in Sirius.

809AS/2989A.D.

The resulting co-ordinated investigation of the Sirius houses determines that many people of all the major houses and even outer colonies were infected with a NOMAD parasite and that a full-blown invasion and eradication of human life from the Sirius sector was attempted by the alien race, the NOMADs. All previous personnel of all Sirius houses who were involved to help stop the invasion or declared criminals due to this situation are exonerated and in some cases, given medals for their actions of bravery in protecting humanity from the NOMAD threat. The official story to the public of all Sirius houses is that the NOMAD threat is gone and that we are safe, forever.

810AS/2990A.D.

"The Order" is now "un-officially" a quasi-legal, high-level access, multi-government funded secret "BLACK-OPs" organization of all the Sirius houses governments and militaries to forever monitor, observe, research and guard against any future NOMAD threats. The Order also begins to start researching and experimenting with alien technology in it's own labs for use against the NOMADs and for the Sirius houses militaries to prepare for any future alien threat(s).

BEGINNING OF FREELANCER-CROSSFIRE MOD CANON/STORYLINE

Time

Event

810AS/2990A.D.

A lone and well known mercenary pilot working for the Kusari government by the name of "Black Dragon", begins his rise to power and honor within the Kusari peoples. Eventually with the assistance of three other pilots by the callsigns of "Wolf", "Shadow Hunter" and Phoenix", Black Dragon would go on with his new found allies to found the Dragon] Corporation, a law-enforcement organization on contract to the Kusari government.

811AS/2991A.D.

All Sirius house's private corporations and firms dealing with deep space exploration have set forth lucrative expedition contracts to all capable civilian pilots and crews to explore the outer reaches of known space in the Sirius sector to find any and all anomalies, namely jumpholes, that could allow another NOMAD invasion. This has a two-fold effect: One, it will hopefully provide some sort of beachhead for the Sirius houses to keep watch for any trace of NOMAD activity, two, this allows for future expansion into possible new solar systems with habitable planets for future colonization.

814AS/2994A.D.

The efforts of "The Order's" scientific staff, laboratories and their breakthroughs in technology and science from the NOMAD equipment's research have yielded fantastic results which brings forth the next generation in ships, weapons and defensive equipment for all the Sirius houses militaries. Hopefully this will be the technological edge the Sirius houses need to defeat any future alien threats... Unfortunately, these advancements would not been seen for another few years while they are brought from prototype to full-production for all Sirius house militaries.

815AS/2995A.D.

5 years after the "NOMAD War", the Sirius houses and outer colonies have completely recovered from the effects of the attempted alien invasion. All of the house militaries' instituted crash rebuilding programs of their assets and manpower have bolstered them back and even beyond pre-NOMAD war levels for threat of any future alien attack. Due to these programs, many ships scheduled for decommission were simply re-fitted and upgraded, many bases were also upgraded and thanks to a good recruitment and enlistment rate during this time, the ranks were quickly re-filled from the losses incurred during the NOMAD War.

815AS/2995A.D.

An incredible discovery by a Rheinland explorer vessel on the far side of Omicron Alpha is made; an ancient jumpgate, most likely of NOMAD origin, is found there. The ancient gate leads to a previously uncharted and unknown "backwater" solar system to be called, "X-3043", or more commonly referred to, as the "Crossfire" system. Another incredible discovery is found in the system as the explorers stumble upon a massive network of the same kind of ancient gates, laid out in a cross pattern near the center of the solar system. This discovery sends a mixed emotions across Sirius of fear and dread, but also of opportunity and expectations of profits and financial gain due to the system's massive, rich asteroid fields to be exploited.

815AS/2995A.D.

Finding the massive network of NOMAD gates sets all Sirius house militaries immediately at high alert and instantly mobilize their naval forces into a single armada into action towards the X-3043 system to investigate and contain any threats.

815AS/2995A.D.

Many new systems within the Sirius sector of the Milky-Way Galaxy are discovered, explored and charted from X-3043, with strangely, but mercifully little to no NOMAD presence is found at first. This would however, change a year after the initial explorations.

815AS/2995A.D.

The resulting discovery of the X-3043 system causes a massive corporate exodus of ships, vessels and mining crews to the system as corporations across the Sirius houses vie fiercely for claims and contracts for the system which many consider a veritable gold mine. As a result of the massive influx of civilians into the newly discovered system, one of the newly discovered systems from the X-3043 system, the "Custodian" system, had a jumpgate built by DSE there to connect it to the New York system for trade, commerce passage and to be setup as a military attaché outpost for monitoring the majority of the traffic coming through it to X-3043.

816AS/2996A.D.

Frontier regions being frontier regions, society’s most detestable characters found ways to bypass security in the Custodian system checkpoint to X-3043 and strike at the miners and their cohorts. Violence broke out, measures were taken and incidents occurred. The stronghold in Custodian was reviled by the criminals of Sirius and they came to know it by the grizzly moniker of, “Planet Blood.” Priding themselves in their principles and dutiful service, the label was taken on as a badge honor of the Custodian guardians, it was then they forever became known as, the "Blood Guard". Dedicated military and police personnel of the Blood Guard fostered stability and flourishing commerce in X-3043. Overnight, men went from rags to riches and for a short time, life was adventurous and fruitful in the mining outfits.

816AS/2996A.D.

A year has barely passed since the explosion of new colonies and new systems found in Sirius when the dreaded fear of all Sirius manifests itself again... The "Second NOMAD War". The planet known casually as “X II” amongst the locals supported an undetected Nomad colony under the planet's surface. Preparations were underway by the NOMADs since the moment the first humans jumped into the system apparently. The NOMAD fleet struck with resounding force... All at once, NOMAD battleships dropped out of cloak and commenced the attack. The casualties were staggering as hundreds of colonist ships were destroyed, crippled, or soon to go missing. The Houses mustered the remnants of their fleet, with civilian support and hit back with all their might. During that historic battle that ensued, the NOMADs would go down in history in a blaze of horrific self-immolation. Their planet was scuttled, destroyed, reduced to little more than asteroid field, to deny colonists any acquisition of their technology. To this day, the charred remnants lie scattered across the system as a debris/asteroid field. Indeed, without the heroism of the servicemen and women that day humanity could never have been delivered such a resounding victory.

816AS/2996A.D.

In the days leading up to the final battle of the Second NOMAD War, scouts were sent and had arrived in the newly discovered Nephele System, off from the alien jumpgate in the X-3043 system. The scouts were investigating an apparent SOS call from an allied, Red Hessian pilot within the system. Instead, amazingly they found in it's final resting place, the long-lost Coalition sleeper ship, the "STALIN". Abandoned scaffolding and heavy equipment were blanketed near the vessel and a adjacent major asteroid. no survivors were found, all was in desolation in and around the vessel with evidence of a gunfight discovered by closer examination. The new owners, Bundschuh rebels exiled from Rheinland space, proceeded to salvage the vessel. In doing so they came into acquisition of an impressive databank of lost Coalition and Alliance information. It contained knowledge lost since the times of the almost largely forgotten Sol War of Sirius's ancestry. Of particular interest to them were the designs for several Alliance ships. Examination of the logs revealed that the Coalition had planned to manufacture them. They were meant to infiltrate colony space and be covertly supplied to any rebel forces. The STALIN's crew standing orders had been to topple all enemy establishments and await for reinforcements. Unable to locate the Alliance colonies, the crew instead perished trying to establish their own. That was centuries ago... (back in BS122/2166A.D. to be exact!)

816AS/2996A.D.

Once though MIA or KIA, is the majority of the remaining Kusari fleet at the end of the main battle of Second NOMAD War. The Kusari fleet Head Admiral orders the fleet to follow the few remaining and retreating NOMAD forces through one of the jumpgates in X-3043 to a system later referred to as the "Nomad Lair". After a brave and gutsy pilot, who's name, rank or affiliation is not known or given, breaks through the NOMAD defenses and nebula of the "Nomad Lair" system, it is discovered that the Kusari fleet has followed and engaged the retreating forces into a massive NOMAD capital system with yet another marvel of their technology, a Dyson Sphere nearby, like the one discovered in Omicron Major by The Order at the end of the First NOMAD War! Incredibly, this unknown pilot manages to escape the horrific battle between the NOMADs and the Kusari fleet in the later to be referred to system, "Death Valley" and gets a data-disk to planet Crossfire's government of the X-3043 system. The data-disk reveals to the joint military forces on planet Crossfire of the Kusari Head Admiral's report of their current status, position and intelligence of the situation for immediate reinforcements for withdrawal, before they would be totally annihilated by the overwhelming NOMAD forces.

816AS/2996A.D.

A very unique result of the final battle of the Second NOMAD War... The human settlement on the destroyed planet "X II's" moon, now officially re-classified as a independent solar body in the X-3043 system, amazingly survived the bombardment of the war of which mostly took place in the X-3043 system. It was renamed planet "Crossfire" after it's solar orbit and planetary spin was re-established by the marvels of the Liberty corporation, Deep Space Engineering's experimental techniques which proved a complete success. It's climated was modified by the newly built terra-forming stations courtesy of the Bretonian firm, Planetform. Almost immediately it was built upon by the Houses as part of their spending package for reconstruction by the joint effort of the Sirius houses and to be established as the system's capital planet for all trade, commerce and military use. It would go from dusty, arid wastes to metropolitan sprawl virtually overnight.

816AS/2996A.D.

Yet another phenomenon of the destruction of planet "X II" in the "Second NOMAD War" in the Crossfire system... The planet's destruction not only leaves behind a massive asteroid and debris field, but a unique anomaly still being studied to this day... A high-density cosmic object referred to as a "gravimetrical core", which is the only real trace of the destroyed planet "X II's" existence. The research of this phenomenon will hopefully shed some light into explaining exactly how a planet's gravitational field is generated, manipulated or exactly how it effects other objects within it's gravity well. Since nowhere in mankind's history has it ever amassed enough firepower on a planet to literally obliterate it, at least this horrific event is a unique opportunity to study it's fragments and remains from a scientific perspective.

816AS/2996A.D.

Less than a year later after the Second NOMAD War, a massive capital-ship shipyard is built in high orbit of planet Crossfire with designs from all the Sirius Houses being built there, called the "Crossfire Docks" Shipyard. This is yet another part of the continued ongoing joint effort of the Sirius houses to form a front-line and "beachhead" for any further NOMAD attacks. This is also to provide a salvage port for the fallen ships and vessels still drifting in around the Crossfire system from the aftermath of the final battle of the Second NOMAD War.

816AS/2996A.D.

The end of the year brings forth the fruits of the Bundschuh's labor of the incredible discovery in the lost sleeper ship "STALIN's" databanks, from the technical readout and specs for the once-lost Alliance fighters of the mostly long-forgotten Sol War! That effort helps to finally bring the rebirth of the ancient fighter ships of the old Alliance of Sol: the Phoenix, the Patriot, the Grendal, the Mirage, the Reaper, the Sai, the Crusader, the Hades, the Tempest, the Coyote, the Naginata, the Shroud, the Wolverine and the Predator. All of these ships are brought back and put into immediate production during this time by all the Sirius houses, with modest upgrades and improvements. They also employ the recent technological advancements and discoveries of "The Order's" research and development to help create the next generation of Sirius fighter ships able to take on and defeat any threat as a multi-role, space/planet environment superiority fighter.

817AS/2997A.D.

The founding of the Dragon Corporation by the Kusari mercenary pilot "Black Dragon" occurs early in this year. Their first major contract for the Dragon Corps is made with the well known "Blood Guard" faction of the Custodian system, in where the Dragon Corp provides garrison reinforcement in the Sigma-19 system against a pirate faction known as CHAOS, an infamous band of pirates under the leadership of a certain "Commodore Jib".

817AS/2997A.D.

The ensuing, three week conflict of the Dragon Corps and pirate CHAOS forces enthralled much of Sirius Sector as battles raged through the Sigma-19, Tohoku and X-3043 systems. A newly hired pirate faction, HUN, came with raiders from all corners of the Houses to assist the pirate CHAOS clan. Concerned for the welfare of their people, the Kusari Naval Forces donated ships and supplies to support the Dragon Corps struggle against Commodore Jib and his pirate menace. With the Blood Guard leading the way and a new law-enforcement organization aiding, called "PiA", at their side, pilots such as "Warrior", "Flame", and "Firelove" drove the pirates all the way back to their home planet in the Casius system, making the campaign a resounding success. So impressed by the Dragon Corp pilots honor and valor, the Kusari Emperor bestowed upon the Dragon Corporation the gift of the whole Tohoku system, formely owned and inhabited by the former governor Tekagi, of whom was killed by NOMADs. Dragon Corp pilots would forever more be the eternal guardians of the Kusari House. Many more contracts would soon follow. Black Dragon and his mighty squadrons became famous throughout Sirius and competed ferociously with the Hogosha for regional influence.

818AS/2998A.D.

Between the salvage operations of the final battle of the Second NOMAD War and the furiously on-going mining operations in the Crossfire system, the population of planet Crossfire explodes. within several years, the population reaches 1.2 billion people, with a majority of them in space around the system in salvage, mining, exploration or scientific operations. This is known by many in Sirius as the 1st Crossfire Boom of 816AS. The effects of this rapid industrialization will quickly expend the natural resources of the system and causes the various corporations and firms on planet Crossfire to venture out into the alien jumpgates into the nearby systems to find more, newer resources. This in turn, causes yet another major colonization effort and industrial explosion into most of the connecting systems of X-3043. As a result of this, many new planets in the nearby systems of X-3043 are quickly colonized, some planets establish governments and economies in nearly a matter of months. Many Sirius residents refer to this as the 2nd Crossfire Boom of 818AS.

818AS/2998A.D.

An unfortunate side-effect of the 2nd Crossfire Boom of 818AS is the prevalence of invading Outcasts into the neighbouring systems of X-3043 in an effort to find a new, more hospitable, earth-like homeworld for their people. This in turn causes a minor, but nearby inter-system war to break out between the Outcast pirates and all other nearby governments, factions and corporations of those systems connected to the nearby X-3043 system. To the cursed descendants of the "HISPANIA" crew, to colonize a world more hospitable than their own was considered a birthright worth dying for. With the Houses still weakened and rebuilding from their clash with the NOMADs, this was the opportune moment in the eyes of the Outcasts. Efforts to halt expansion were in vain however, as planet Crossfire had already assumed its rightful place in Sirius as a major hub of commerce. Regardless of the danger, droves of pioneers who come to X-3043 are still met by the blazing guns of those maskers. The conflict will likely carry on for decades more.

819AS/2999A.D.

Tensions are increasing even further in the Crossfire system and on planet Crossfire between the planetary government as the privateers, mistreated workers, smugglers, freedom fighters, and even entrepreneurs are finding out that the working conditions and bureaucracy they are dealing with day to day operations is "outrageous", let alone the threat of pirate activity, of which the military and bounty hunters seem lax in responding to. To the labor classes, corporations and private firms, it was clear that the House governments were already overstepping their bounds, meddling too eagerly in their lives, complicating their already complex business affairs and not doing enough to keep the Outcast threat contained. The general resentment and simmering mood of the working "middle-class" of planet Crossfire and the X-3043 system is threatening to create a furor boiling over into possible civil war.

819AS/2999A.D.

The situation of the labor revolts within the X-3043 system against the local government finally comes to a head, as all of the privateers, mistreated workers, smugglers, freedom fighters, entrepreneurs, even some questionable, possibly criminal organizations band together under a single banner. Within a matter of months, with all of their combined technical know-how, ability and resources, they create a rag-tag flotilla as a show of force to the local Crossfire government and even the Sirius houses that even though they all fought under a single cause again their common enemy the NOMADs, their gross mis-treatment under the corrupt government of the Crossfire system and that the tyranny of the Sirius houses was no longer going to tolerated. These people also believed that the unity of the Sirius houses was short-lived and that any resemblance of re-establishing the old Alliance of Sol amongst the Sirius houses would be futile. Therefore, they were staunchly against it... Thus, the "Confederated Strike Force"(CSF) was born. This para-military force would set out to shake loose from Sirius the chains of tyranny once and for all, starting with the X-3043 system.

819AS/2999A.D.

The CSF fleet's show of force sends the entire planet of Crossfire into a panic and puts all Sirius house militaries at high alert. A representative of the CSF fleet issues a list of demands to the Crossfire government and Sirius houses or they will begin using their newly combined might to make all of Sirius "..see things 'their' way". They do not seek bloodshed of innocent blood, but they will not hesitate to use force to see their demands made. The vid-monitors across the Sirius sector light up like a neon sign of the news hours later...

819AS/2999A.D.

The news from the Crossfire system of the upstart Confederated Strike Force fleet across the media outlets and military reports in Sirius infuriates the leadership of all the Sirius houses. Each leader from the Sirius houses gives a scathing and damning speech in response against this new rag-tag outfit of a para-military force and their demands. Considering all the recent events of the NOMAD wars, the new Outcast threat within the Crossfire-connected systems and the fear of the return of the Coalition after the sleeper ship "STALIN" was discovered in the Nephele system, the Sirius house governments were furious. After all the people in Sirius had been through, all the efforts were done to maintain peace and order after the wars they recently experienced, this was a serious step back from the new levels of inter-house cooperation they were previously enjoying. There was even negotiations being considered in re-establishing a newer version of the old Alliance treaty of humanity's home world, Earth in the Sol system. In light of all this, the response to the CSF was swift and plans by the Sirius houses was put into action immediately. Within a few months, the Sirius houses assembled their knowledge, resources and might into a combined fleet called the "Alliance Star Fleet"(ASF). The supremacy of the Alliance Star Fleet was unquestionable, they were prepared to rise to the challenge. Their mission was simply: unite the Houses, defend humanity from all threats foreign and domestic, and secure freedom and justice for every man, woman, and child in Sirius. Thus, this is the events that began the long ASF/CSF conflict which has once again, become another battlefield front in the Crossfire system.

819AS/2999A.D.

The ASF fleet finally arrives in force in the X-3043 system and the first major battle of the CSF/ASF war kicks off in the final month of this year. The Crossfire government is put back in power from the CSF usurpers and after a day of losses by both sides of the first battle, the CSF's main forces makes a withdrawal from the system, with lingering CSF "harasser" fighters making hit and run sorties afterwards. Occasionally the CSF will bring a battleship with some escorts in through one of the jumpgates and another "skirmish" will kick off somewhere in the system, usually near one of the many X-3043 alien gates. This continues on to this day in the X-3043 system. In response, the Crossfire government and all Sirius houses issue a general warning all corporations, firms, civilians and their vessels travelling to X-3043. Those ships who are not allied with the CSF are ordered to either stay out of the system or try to stay clear of any areas of on-going conflict, as they will not be held responsible for any loss of property or life due to the on-going battles and skirmishes between the CSF and ASF force's friendly or hostile fire. Any individual allied or is found out aiding CSF forces anywhere in Sirius will be branded as a CSF agent and will be arrested immediately by ASF or Sirius house militaries or police forces. Any ship allied or is found helping CSF ships or vessels in Sirius will be shot down by any ASF ship or Sirius house military/police forces if hostile fire is exchanged.

820AS/3000A.D.

The constant unpredictable CSF/ASF conflict within the X-3043 and the still persistent Outcast menace in the Crossfire systems have driven corporations and mining firms to once again re-direct their attention to other areas of space within the Sirius sector for new prospects. The general consensus is to direct the attention away from the conflict-laden areas and also away from the main areas of pirate activity. This leads to yet again more expeditions within the Sirius sector to new, unknown regions and uncharted systems.

820AS/3000A.D.

The theoretical completion date by Planetform of the planet Harris terra-forming project in Tau-31. However, due to a recent mechanical failure undetected by Planetform technitions and monitoring personnel, the 2nd and 3rd terra-forming complexes were only operating at 25% efficency for an undetermined amount of time and therefore after examining current atmospheric levels, the estimate for completion has been pushed back another 20 to 30 years.

820AS/3000A.D.

An incredible discovery is made as a result of the latest Sirius expeditions, although it's true cause is heavily rumored. The location of a rare and unique cosmic anomaly in a previously uncharted and uninhabited system is found, off from the Dublin system in Bretonia space. The new system's name given is called Hyperion, after the "nickname" given to the cosmic anomaly, referred to as a "Hyper-Dimensional Wormhole". This incredible anomaly upon sending an exploratory ship through it has led to discovery of a long nearly-forgotten, but a familiar system to Sirius astronomists, known as the "SOL" system, humanity's cradle of birth in the Milky-Way Galaxy and home solar system!

820AS/3000A.D.

Upon discovery of the once thought lost Sol system, it is quickly discovered that an alien race is still present in the system, none other than the NOMADs; along with a new, unknown alien race who are just as hostile, but surprisingly even more powerful! Most long-range deep space probes and a few deep space scout ships are instantly destroyed coming into range of the new hostile alien race's vessels. The only reports of the new race is that they are predominantly green looking from the few visual observations given and their ships are of a strange, "insect-looking" appearance and possibly of organic construction, as most scans and probes of the them have yielded little data, as the NOMAD ships do... Right before they are targeted and destroyed by the same mysterious aliens.

820AS/3000A.D.

The incredible news of the discovery of Sol and it's mysterious new alien guard working seemingly in concert with the NOMAD forces mobilizes "The Order's" new armada, utilizing 2nd generation developed NOMAD technology to assemble and re-group at the "Hyper-Dimensional Wormhole" in the newly discovered Hyperion system. This begins "OPERATION RESTORE SOL", planned secretly by the Sirius house militaries and governments to fight, defeat and drive out the ancient alien enemies and their new found allies from our home solar system.

820AS/3000A.D.

The Order's "OPERATION RESTORE SOL" suffers a 45% overall casualty and loss of ships/vessels in the assault/invasion fleet in the several month long campaign in the Sol system against the NOMADs and their new allies. The long and bitter series of battles near each major planet and it's respective moon system, with the particular battle over Earth being the most fiercest, the Order's new "30th Order Fleet" proves to be the victor against the alien hordes and it's defenders. The alien threat is completely destroyed, leaving hopefully no communication to alien forces outside Sol for chance of reinforcements. Later it is discovered from old data from the First NOMAD War, that these ships are of an even more ancient race than the NOMADs and are their supposed "masters"; they are referred to as, the "DOM'KAVASH" from the best translation of alien artifacts available.

820AS/3000A.D.

The official news released to the public throughout Sirius of Sol's liberation literally heralds probably the first inter-system celebration ever known in Sirius and even puts most of the conflicts going on in Sirius to a rare and unique stand-still for a few days. The most ironic fact of this entire celebration is the date in which it happens, July the 4th! This is the date of independence for Liberty's the old Earth nation's liberation, the United States of America's day of independence recognized from the British monarchy, in 1776 A.D. All around Sirius, this date is now celebrated as Earth Independence Day from the alien hordes in grand celebrations, where it is known that even the pirate groups take the day off of raiding to celebrate!

820AS/3000A.D.

With the Sol system firmly back in mankind's hands, "The Order" quickly begins plans for constructing a new base of operations in orbit around Mars. Shortly thereafter, a perimeter is established and patrol routes at setup daily around the Sol system for detection of any further alien presence. With the base completed and it's integrated shipyards finished, the secret Order outfit begins immediately on a crash-program to rebuilt it's fleet from losses incurred during "OPERATION RESTORE SOL" and to upgrade it's existing fleet to the latest 3rd generation alien technologies. This is done to prepare "The Order's" new "31st Order Fleet" for any future alien invasions.

821AS/3001A.D.

At Lith Station in Nephele were found very old hidden areas ... some from coalition passengers on sleeper-ship have survived?!?

821AS/3001A.D.

The official re-building and salvaging of what was left of Earth's ruins has begun with efforts brought forth from every end of Sirius, by nearly every known faction, with even some pirate factions getting involved on the promise of peaceful terms. Even though most of what the Coalition forces left behind in Sol were totally destroyed or still drifting in space in pieces, thankfully the jumpgates and warp buoys were still in one-piece and most were still functioning even after centuries of rust and decay had set in, which greatly helps speed the efforts of salvaging and rebuilding up after all jumpgates and buoys were repaired. It is estimated mankind spend the next 30-40 years cleaning up the debris and "corpses" of old Coalition bases, vessels and ships and of the NOMADs and DOM'KAVASH still in most of the Sol system's planet's orbits, even though most of it has burned up in atmospheric entry on each respective planet.

821AS/3001A.D.

With a few mega-cities re-established on Sol, the blossoming trade of old Earth relics has started to explode and reaches the fartherest ends of Sirius. Long and arduous trade routes began to funnel treasures back to every corner of Sirius space, where they command the highest prices to those wealthy enough to pay. The real-estate value of Earth has also caused it to become the home of the wealthiest, richest and most well-to-do within Sirius. The uber-elite of Sirius, once Sol was made ready for habitation again, drove many of them to Earth to live and experience the ancient home of mankind firsthand. Although most of Earth still lies in ruins, being "cleaned up" or is uninhabitable waste-land, there are still the habitable, rebuilt mega-cities and continents that have been literally transformed into most could consider a paradise.

822AS/3002A.D.

Peter Abbot Blinch, a 28 year-old paralegal turned Orbital Spa & Cruise guide in Edinburgh, comes forward with what he knew about his cousin Jack Blinch's recent life events has left all of Sirius completely dumbfounded... His story surrounding his relative and his incredible journey has led to a discovery in the Sol system, a dimensional rift leading to a formerly unknown region of the galaxy, the Altair sector. After a small independent expedition there, scouts discover nearby hostile Nomad systems and settlements... Also found are recent conventional jumpgates of human-level technology! To the expedition scouts it appears to be the long-missing distant descendants of the Coalition civilization and peoples of ancient Sol, occupying over a number of nearby star systems in the Altair sector! In spite of the nearby dangers of Nomads and the recently discovered Dom'Kavash alien races, these hardy people have apparently survived and even thrived for centuries now in their new home in Altair space.

822AS/3002A.D.

The discovery of the Coalition civilization in the Altair sector sends a flurry of secret expeditions by various Sirius militaries into the newly discovered Dimensional Rift in Sol to investigate and gather more intelligence of the old Earth Alliance's ancient foe. All expeditions, save the one by the Order, did not return. With the return of the Order's expedition and grim tidings of the situation, it seems little has changed between the descendants of the Alliance and the descendants of the Coalition.

822AS/3002A.D.

Results of the expeditions into the Altair sector of a possible re-emerging ancient Coalition force becoming a threat to the Sirius houses plays towards the Alliance Star Fleet's campaign against the Confederated Strike Force. With the specter of yet another enemy dangling over the people of Sirius, support steadily dwindled for the CSF forces. This culminated in the establishment of a unified, Alliance government on Planet Crossfire in the X-3043 system. The ASF/CSF conflict begins to dwindle down to minor skirmishes and raids, with the local news media making each event much more bigger than it really is. Deep down, the forces of the ASF and CSF know that if the situation demanded it and a unified threat to them both appears again, they will join forces as brothers and sisters of Sirius once again to combat a common foe.

822AS/3002A.D.

The ongoing sorties by the Sirius houses fleets into Altair space to further investigate the Coalition forces are met with harsh resistance by not only by the Coalition, but also by hostile alien forces of the NOMADs and DOM'KAVASH. The resulting situation has resulted in a serious rate of attrition for both the Sirius houses and the Coalition forces, often both are nearly obliterated at the same time by the alien forces in the connecting systems between the Dimensional Rift and Coalition space. The raids of each side of the Sirius houses and Coalition into the opposing side's territory almost always ends in a stalemate, as Coalition raiders are quickly destroyed by the Order's defenses in Sol and the Sirius houses raiders are swiftly destroyed by seasoned Coalition defenders in Sovetskaya. These raids are also not limited by just the houses either, as occasionally, alien forces will also invade Sol or Coalition space with just as much ferocity. The flare up of this inter-system, inter-house, inter-species, three-way war seems endless and costly for all sides in both the Sirius and the Altair sectors.

822AS/3002A.D.

After 6 months of heavy losses by both the Sirius houses and the Coalition via the alien forces, summits are held on Planets Curacao in the Cortez system in the Sirius sector and on planet Murmansk of the Sovetskaya system in the Altair sector. Negotiations between the Sirius houses and the Coalition house are drawn up for terms of a ceasefire and the formation of a military pact to unite against the NOMADS and DOM'KAVASH, respectfully. In light of the superior technology and numbers of alien forces against humanity in Sirius and Altair, after centuries and centuries since the Sirius Exodus, the Sirius houses, children of the old Earth Alliance and children of the old Earth Coalition, finally unite against their common foes. The reunion of all of known mankind from ancient Earth is now begrudging made, to ensure all of their survival in both the Sirius and Altair sectors of the galaxy.

822AS/3002A.D.

An incredible and massive campaign against the DOM'KAVASH in the Altair sector by the Coalition forces nets them the maps of many DOM'KAVASH systems and location of a alien "hypergate" deep within DOM'KAVASH space, where it is reported that a massive battle takes place there. The large Coalition assault fleet invades into a DOM'KAVASH system called "Menton" deep within the DOM'KAVASH's space seeking to destroy the assumed entry point of DOM'KAVASH forces into the Altair sector. no word of the fleets or any communication regarding their current position in the massive battle in the Menton system afterwards is received, as it is feared they are all lost to the defending DOM'KAVASH forces in attempting to destroy their hypergate.

823AS/3003A.D.

Due to the Coalition's recent defeat in deep DOM'KAVASH space, the alien threats of the NOMADS and DOM'KAVASH in the Sirius and Altair sectors continues to escalate. According to the attrition rate and logistics from the Coalition's top generals after the grave loss in their gambit to destroy the DOM'KAVASH Hypergate, they indicate that the Coalition's defenses could collapse by the year's end. The onslaught of the combined might of the NOMADS and DOM'KAVASH's forces has found a way to overcome even the Coalition's powerful and once thought invincible, Dark Reign Ion Cannons, of which form the main basis of their defensive grid of their territory throughout the Altair sector.

823AS/3003A.D.

There are now grave concerns by the Alliance generals in the Sirius sector for the growing NOMAD presence and recent DOM'KAVASH presence in Sirius. Civilian casualties are mounting higher by the day as enemy alien operations branch aggressively from the Omicron systems in the Edge Nebula. Even though most alien forces observed have not fielded anything beyond scouts, fighters or small capital ships, there are concerns the NOMADS and DOM'KAVASH will eventually begin an invasion into Sirius with their biggest and most powerful capital ships yet. All Sirius house militaries continue to remain on the highest alert status.

823AS/3003A.D.

With it's huge financial status and political clout with all the Sirius houses, the Gas Miners Guild(GMG) begins to do it's part to secure humanity's future and way of life in the Sirius sector. The GMG begins to increase it's H-Fuel production by 175% to meet the growing needs of Sirius's militaries and increases funding to it's up and coming GMG Research and Development Division to further the technology to combat alien threats. A massive recruiting effort is also employed by the GMG for all able-bodied pilots for deep-space exploration and system charting. Several months later, the GMG mobilizes it's new fleet to rise up to the growing threats all around Sirius.

823AS/3003A.D.

A notable GMG laboratory, Beta Lamda Labs, makes a huge discovery of more an archaeological nature from a recently discovered planet in a exploratory drilling operation. An ancient humanoid civilization in an previously unknown system is discovered and christened with the name, "The Ancients". This long-lost race of aliens were apparently destroyed by their first contact with the NOMADS eons ago. This race possessed technology slightly more advanced than man-kind's currently employed technological advances. The months of research and discovery afterwards at the dig site on "The Ancients" planet yields incredible finds and advancements in technology for the GMG. The solar system of the Ancients is named by the GMG as the "Devron" system, after the GMG exploratory vessel that discovered it.

823AS/3003A.D.

After a secret top-level meeting with the CEOs, top officers and liaisons of the most powerful Sirius corporations, the most incredible breakthrough by the GMG laboratories is revealed. Within a few months, a imposing, sprawling space station is built on the edge of the Omega-3 system near Bretonia space. Attached to this new station is the GMG's crowning achievement and mankind's greatest milestone yet, a prototype Hypergate! After brilliantly solving the incredible power supply needs of the hypergate by the GMG labs, the gate however still has one drawback to it... It can deliver a spacecraft safely to it's targeted destination, of which is the Milky-Way's Inner core, but the trip is one way. With no way to send the necessary labor and physical capital to construct a return gate on the far side, it is understood that whoever went through the Hypergate may become stranded.

823AS/3003A.D.

After a day of it's initial activation, the GMG Hypergate in Omega-3 has it's first traveller, a volunteer of GMG's Hypergate initiative. In nothing but a mere scout ship, this lone, either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid pilot, on what is basically a suicide mission by the GMG, is selected to investigate the Inner Core sector to hopefully find a route back to either the Sirius or Altair sectors. The success of the mission has basically no guarantees, or little chance of the pilot returning home... But with the dire circumstances in the Sirius and Altair sectors, this unfortunately requires dire actions. Only time will tell of this noble, heroic pilot's adventure into a region of the galaxy where no human has tread.

824AS/3004A.D.

To more effectively manage The Order's defensive operations, the Alliance decides to create a new organization called the "Silver Arrows", of which it's primary objective is to explore the NOMAD and DOM'KAVASH systems and to the study their various and powerful alien technologies. This leaves "The Order" to a more protective role back in the colonies in the Sirius and Altair sectors. The Silver Arrows routinely launch many minor fighter-only expeditions into hostile, alien environments with it's fighter wings, which sneak further into enemy territory than previous Alliance or Coalition fleets. These para-military pilots begin to develop expertise in alien dog-fighting, system charting and finding alien technologies allowing the human technology to improve considerably over the following years. On some occasions, The Order calls for reinforcement from the Silver Arrows ranks to cover multiple invasion zones in Sirius or for overall force reinforcements to put end to those invasions faster. Exploring uncharted systems and dispatching invasion zones in the Altair or Sirius sectors has led the group to develop it's organization's motto: "We explore, we defend".

825AS/3005A.D.

After few years of the Silver Arrows fighter-only exploration and expeditions, the Silver Arrows Labatories(SAL) scientists began to stall in their research due to the fact that not much lab equipment can be brought in the field, where the pilots often are. The Silver Arrows Command(SAC) in response begins to develop a new fleet of capital ships that would bring standard astro-physicist lab equipment to the reaches of deep alien space to study newly discovered phenomenons and to fight the massive, deadly DOM'KAVASH motherships that the small fighter wings encountered much too often. The first ship to leave the SAC's space dock on Manhattan was a experimental Osiris Class battleship, the "Discovery". Equipped with top-of-the-line nav computer, scanner, state of the art fission reactor core, prototype weapon and defensive systems, the ship was ready to enter service into hostile, alien space. A fully functional astrometric laboratory was installed to allow scientists to conduct experiments and the ship was modified with a second hangar to the rear of the ship to allow a second wing of escort fighters to be docked on board. In essence, the Discovery a first and one of a kind naval vessel ever seen in production, a prototype: a battle-carrier that also does operations as a exploratory science vessel, a self contained moving battlestation. The first command of this experimental flagship was given to the young, yet experienced, Captain Sam Thomas who excelled in multiple previous expeditions with his fighter squadron, Alpha Wing. The ship engaged on few shakedown missions in Sirius NOMAD territories in the months following its launch before taking part in a more dangerous operation in the Altair sector.

826AS/3006A.D.

The Silver Arrows' flagship "Discovery" is sent on a new mission in the DOM'KAVASH systems of the Altair sector to study more closely the DOM'KAVASH Hypergate in the Menton System. However, on its way to it's intended destination, the ship is spotted by DOM'KAVASH ships performing trial runs of a new jump technology which allows the DOM'KAVASH ships to purposely create jump holes to travel from any point in space to another. The "Discovery" gets ambushed and the aliens use their new technology to send the battleship to an unknown destination, deep into the galaxy away from the Altair sector. The Silver Arrows dispatches all pilots to deep-space missions to find the lost flagship, with the hope of bringing back the men and women of the "Discovery" home.

828AS/3008 A.D.

The first mentions of the Dark Phoenix were around the time of when a notorious mercenary clan known as Knights of Mercy (PX) was one of the biggest and most active clans in the known (Crossfire) universe. Rumors report about a splitting of a small group of elite fighters from PX because of their opponent ideas regarding policy and profits. Later on this group gave itself the name Dark Phoenix. Because like the fabulous bird it revived out of the ashes of PX-internal fights. They were such a nuisance for PX that they had a KoS placed on them. What results this had are not known, for much has been lost or forgotten since then.

828AS/3008A.D.

The Silver Arrows Command is on the verge of losing it's Alliance backing and funding due to failure of finding the lost "Discovery" flagship and with little to show the ASF Command of it's progress in the SAC's alien experiments results, dissolving of the fledgling para-military outfit looks inevitable... Incredibly though, days shortly after being declared officially lost by the ASF command, the battleship reappears through the Dimensionnal Rift in the Sol system and lands on Earth after two years in the unknown regions of the Milky-Way Galaxy. After more than a year of being listed as 'missing-in-action', Captain Sam Thomas brings his ship back with a few holes in the hull but the "Discovery" was still in one piece. Amazingly with no casualties reported on the Captain's crew roster and ship log, they return with many, many secrets and discoveries for the Sirius scientists to study. The analysis of the ship's nav computer and the testamonies of the crew reveals that the ship has been sent by the DOM'KAVASH into what is known today as the Inner Core Sector, the very center of the Milky Way galaxy.

829AS/3009A.D.

The cooperative Gas Miners Guild/Silver Arrows OPERATION RECOVERY initiative begins in the Inner Core Sector. Thanks to the many Inner Core expeditions of both the Gas Miners Guild and the Silver Arrows, automated, self-defending, repair buoys have been left in select locations in space to aid pilots in the hostile UNITED DOM' Occupied Territory systems (formerly Dom'Kavash space) of Venn, Celldra, Sadurn, Jormdar, Pyrddra, Mepther and Ryssk to help pilots repair their ships from hull and system damage sustained in combat by the UNITED DOM factions. Thanks to this brilliant innovation, this could be the catalyst that the Sirius houses and Dom'Kavash hope could stem the tide of inter-galactic war in their favor against the United Dom' Invasion forces.

830AS/3010A.D.

Crossfire Police Department officials seeking an new advanced, very heavy fighter for better law-enforcement and also for multi-role capabilities against recent surges in alien activity, commission the Gas Miners Guild's Beta Lambda Labs and the Silver Arrow Labs on planet Cambridge to design a space superiority, very heavy fighter christened, the "REDEMPTION". Although the fighter is rather expensive in production costs and uses state of the art materials, it's abilities for such a large VHF are impressive and to most pilots so far, worth the initial costs! The Redemption VHF, while becoming strictly sold and wholly owned by the Crossfire Police Department via production from the GMG's shipyards, it has brisk sales from it's launch and quickly becomes clan alien-hunters like the notable Silver Arrow pilots, ship of choice. Due to it's nimble manueverability, heavy armor and punishing firepower, it is a no-brainer against the incredible onslaught of the United Dom' invasion forces in the Inner Core sector.

830AS/3010A.D.

The Silver Arrows Laboratories (SAL) releases it's first de-classified publication by it's author, Rear Admiral Ryleous Arkane, in xeno-biology and xeno-technology research. The "Xeno-Species and Vessels Recognition Report and Field Manual" almost literally overnight becomes a standard beginner's guide in xeno-research and is now found on almost every Sirius ship and vessel's cockpit or database. All Sirius corporations, businesses and houses herald it as a vital piece of information for all pilots exploring and venturing into unknown space. A revised and expanded edition, version 1.1 is released in early 831AS/3011 A.D.

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831AS/3011A.D.

A long abandoned and undiscovered sector of the Milky Way Galaxy is revealed by the Dom'Kavash, nicknamed by humans as the "Canis Sector" after the largest star in it, VY Canis Majoris, a red hypergiant. This is done in hope by the Dom'Kavash that humanity will find and retro-engineer a rumored ancient technology pioneered by them eons ago to further their efforts against the United Dom Forces threatening their homeworlds.

832AS/3012 A.D.

After several years of undercover investigations throughout the Sirius, Altair and Inner Core sectors, the Order's High Command in conjunction with the Dom'Kavash Empire's assistance, issues a incredible decree against the Knights of Mercy mercenary organization: All |PX| pilots are to be hunted down, their ship and vessel assets destroyed and Sidewinder Base in the Alaska system to be confiscated for high treason and treachery against all humanity after proof of contact with the United Dom' Occupation forces for suspected negotiations of a plot to infiltrate and invade the Sirius, Altair and Inner Core sectors and to destroy each sector's respective defensive networks and communications by sabatoge. The invasion force of the Alaska system against the Knights of Mercy clan is overwhelming with not only the Order's 31st fleet, but elements of the ASF fleet composing of the Silver Arrows Protector Fleet, the Bloodguard's Custodian Guard Fleet, The Crossfire Police Department's Tarsus Patrol Fleet, The Independent Operators Consortium Fleet, The United Rebels Nephele Home Security Force Fleet and the Galaxy Ranger's Ragnarok Fleet from Sol. The resulting force scuttles the entire PX forces within a matter of minutes in overwhelming firepower and commands the surrender of Sidewinder Station and any other PX personnel shortly thereafter. The entire obliteration of the organization becomes classified information by the Order High Command and ASF Command, however information concerning the fate of the |PX| somehow leaks throughout all of known space, particularly through CSF forces and most pirate organizations who were loyal customers to the |PX|'s services.

NOW IN THE FREELANCER-CROSSFIRE 1.9 MOD

Time

Event

832AS/3012 A.D.

Starts CF 1.9

833AS/3013 A.D.

Soon after the downfall, and disbanding of The Knights of Mercy, the Dark Phoenix clan shifted from the shadows of deep space from whence they were hidden. Under the wise leadership of SolidNebula and his second in command, Shockwave, the Dark Phoenix clan began to once again make a careful but resolute presence in the Crossfire universe. Later, Dark Phoenix administrative clan leader denne was recruited into the fold of this honorary mercenary clan. From there on, things have gone smoothly, with the inclusion of multiple new members and new opportunities that presented themselves.

834AS/3014 A.D.

DP established its name and economy and they even were elected as the commanding party of the Sigma 17 system since they significantly reduced the permanent criminal threat of Outcasts and Corsairs in this part of the border worlds - and because of their wealth, of course. As |DP|denne set to mastering the art of leading the Dark Phoenix clan and its members, SolidNebula and Shockwave slowly faded away, only popping up from time to time for a brief look at what their clan had been up to and to see what news had been going around in Sirius and nearby systems. Rumors tell us about a moon in Altair that was bought by an unknown and rich guy with Sirius slang and the look of Solidnebula. Allegedly he very often gets visit of another man with obviously roots in Sirius and his girls. Nobody knows if that is really Shockwave, but we all wish them luck and fun whereever they are.

835AS/3015 A.D.

Meanwhile DP became one of the most active clans, providing help in all thinkable ways to whomever pays most, shortly before establishing its new headquarter and investing large funds into science and developing of new military and civilian technologies. Their reputation increased so high that all Sirius Houses and other clans agreed to give DP the right and honor to provide an own Galaxy Ranger: AZ09 (Quote: "Hell ya, i do this job. I love alcohol and babes, but without justice they don't taste.").

840AS/3020A.D.

Estimated completion of the California Minor terraforming. The original projections for terraforming time were on the order of 400 years, but alien organisms have accelerated the process over four-fold.

850AS/3030A.D.

Estimated completion of Liberty Debris Field cleanup.

NOW IN THE FREELANCER-CROSSFIRE 2.0 MOD

Time

Event

855AS/3035 A.D.

Starts CF 2.0

858AS/3038 A.D.

The Steel Hearts Clan - |TSH| cornerstone was laid in Kyushu during restless times when The Order started to gather all their resources and needed to also acquire support from all Sirius houses for a joint operation with the Dom'Kavash against hostile aliens coming to the Milky Way through Hyper-Gates located in the galaxy's inner core. With this arise also the need to ensure at least some order in space controlled by the humans.

... The END? (THIS IS A WORK-IN-PROGRESS! If you want your clan's history to be recorded here please send PM (@Forlon) with the information to be added, thanks!)